Headlight control device and headlight control method

Abstract

This headlight control device comprises: an orientation detection unit (12) that detects the orientation of a driver of a vehicle (100) on the basis of an image in which the driver is captured; a target object presence / absence judgement unit (14) that judges whether or not a target object is present in the direction in which the driver is oriented, on the basis of orientation information pertaining to the orientation of the driver and vehicle surrounding information; a target object state judgement unit (15) that, if the target object is determined to be present in the direction in which the driver is oriented, judges the state in which the target object is set, on the basis of the vehicle surrounding information; a control content determination unit (16) that determines an irradiation range of light or an irradiation light amount by a headlight (2) mounted to the vehicle (100) on the basis of target object state information and the orientation information; and a light distribution control unit (17) that causes the headlight (2) to emit light on the basis of the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit (16).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a headlight control device and a headlight control method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in the lighting control of vehicle headlights, in order to improve the visibility of the driver, a technique for controlling the headlights to illuminate the area in the direction the driver is facing is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When an object such as an obstacle exists in the direction the driver is facing, depending on the situation in which the object is placed, the irradiation range or irradiation light amount of the light from the headlights, which is preferable for the driver to easily visually recognize the object, changes. In the prior art, there has been a problem that headlight lighting control considering the situation in which an object existing in the direction the driver is facing is placed cannot be performed.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and in the headlight lighting control based on the direction the driver is facing in a vehicle, it is an object to provide a headlight control device capable of performing lighting control considering the situation in which an object existing in the direction the driver is facing is placed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The headlight control device according to the present disclosure includes an orientation detection unit that detects the orientation of a driver based on a captured image of the driver of a vehicle, and orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and vehicle surrounding information. Based on this, an object presence determination unit that determines whether there is an object that is presumed to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing, and when the object presence determination unit determines that there is an object in the direction the driver is facing, a target object situation determination unit that determines the situation in which the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information, and based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object determined by the target object situation determination unit is placed and the orientation information, the irradiation range of light by the headlight provided on the vehicle Surround A control content determination unit that determines, and for the headlight, a light distribution control unit that irradiates light based on the irradiation range determined by the control content determination unit Into the surround are provided. The control content determination unit determines the vertical range of the irradiation range based on the target object situation information and determines the horizontal range of the irradiation range based on the orientation information for the irradiation range.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, in the lighting control of the headlight based on the direction the driver is facing in a vehicle, lighting control can be performed in consideration of the situation in which an object existing in the direction the driver is facing is placed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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Figure 9

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a headlight control device 1 according to Embodiment 1. In Embodiment 1, it is assumed that the headlight control device 1 is mounted on the vehicle 100.

[0010] The headlight control device 1 performs lighting control of the headlights 2 provided on the vehicle 100 based on the direction of the driver of the vehicle 100. In Embodiment 1, the "direction of the driver's vehicle" is represented by the driver's face direction or the driver's line-of-sight direction. Specifically, the headlight control device 1 determines whether there is an object (hereinafter referred to as "target object") that is estimated to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver of the vehicle 100 is facing. When it is determined that there is a target object, the headlight control device 1 performs lighting control of the headlights 2 in consideration of the situation where the target object is placed. In the first embodiment, the lighting control of the headlights 2 performed by the headlight control device 1 specifically assumes control of the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount of the light irradiated by the headlights 2. In the first embodiment, the target object is assumed to exist in front of the vehicle 100 while the driver is driving the vehicle 100. The target object includes moving objects including people and stationary objects such as objects installed on the road.

[0011] In the first embodiment, the lighting control of the headlights 2 by the headlight control device 1 based on the driver's orientation is assumed to be performed when the headlights 2 are turned on in a dark place such as a parking lot at night, an urban area at night, or an underground parking lot.

[0012] The headlight control device 1 is connected to the headlights 2, the in-vehicle imaging device 3, and the peripheral information acquisition device 4. The peripheral information acquisition device 4 includes a millimeter-wave radar 41 and an out-of-vehicle imaging device 42. The headlights 2, the in-vehicle imaging device 3, and the peripheral information acquisition device 4 are provided on the vehicle 100.

[0013] The headlight 2 is a lighting device that illuminates the front of the vehicle 100. Since the headlight 2 is a general headlight that can irradiate, for example, high beam, low beam, and auxiliary light, a detailed configuration example will not be described. The headlight 2 includes, in the vehicle 100, a left light (not shown) mounted on the left side with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, and a right light (not shown) mounted on the right side with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100. The left light is composed of a high beam unit (not shown) that illuminates the distance, a low beam unit (not shown) that illuminates the vicinity, and an auxiliary light unit (not shown). The right light is composed of a high beam unit (not shown) that illuminates the distance, a low beam unit (not shown) that illuminates the vicinity, and an auxiliary light unit (not shown). The high beam unit, the low beam unit, and the auxiliary light unit are each composed of a light source (not shown), such as a plurality of LED light sources arranged in an array, for example, and each light source can be lit individually. In the first embodiment, being arranged in an array means that the light sources are arranged in a row in the width direction of the vehicle 100. By lighting each light source, high beam, low beam, or auxiliary light is irradiated to the area in front of the vehicle 100. Here, it is assumed that the headlight 2 is composed of a light source such as a plurality of LED light sources arranged in an array, but this is only an example, and the headlight 2 may have another configuration. For example, the headlight 2 may have a configuration that uses a laser-excited light source as the light source.

[0014] In Embodiment 1, the area where the high beam unit can irradiate the high beam in front of the vehicle 100 is referred to as the "high beam irradiable area". How far in front of the vehicle 100 and what range of the area the high beam irradiable area is depends on the specifications of the high beam unit and is determined in advance. In Embodiment 1, the area where the low beam unit can irradiate the low beam in front of the vehicle 100 is referred to as the "low beam irradiable area". Note that in Embodiment 1, the low beam is also referred to as the "passing light". How far in front of the vehicle 100 and what range of the area the low beam irradiable area is depends on the specifications of the low beam unit and is determined in advance. In Embodiment 1, the area where the auxiliary light unit can irradiate the auxiliary light in front of the vehicle 100 is referred to as the "auxiliary light irradiable area". How far in front of the vehicle 100 and what range of the area the auxiliary light irradiable area is depends on the specifications of the auxiliary light unit and is determined in advance.

[0015] The headlight control device 1 according to Embodiment 1 performs control to irradiate or block the high beam, low beam, or auxiliary light by, for example, turning on or off each light source. Thereby, the headlight control device 1 controls the irradiation range of the light by the headlight 2. The headlight control device 1 can not only turn on and off each light source but also control the light amount during lighting.

[0016] The in-vehicle imaging device 3 is a camera or the like installed in the vehicle 100 for the purpose of monitoring the inside of the vehicle 100 and is installed so as to be able to image at least the face of the driver. The in-vehicle imaging device 3 is an infrared camera or a visible light camera. The in-vehicle imaging device 3 outputs the captured image (hereinafter referred to as the "in-vehicle captured image") to the headlight control device 1. In Embodiment 1, the in-vehicle imaging device 3 is assumed to be shared with the imaging device of a so-called "Driver Monitoring System (DMS)" mounted on the vehicle 100, for example, to monitor the state of the driver inside the vehicle 100.

[0017] The surrounding information acquisition device 4 is a device that acquires information about an object existing around the vehicle 100 (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle surrounding information"). The surrounding information acquisition device 4 includes a millimeter-wave radar 41 and an outside-vehicle imaging device 42.

[0018] The millimeter-wave radar 41 acquires, as vehicle surrounding information, information about the distance to an object outside the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "distance information"). The millimeter-wave radar 41 transmits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the vehicle 100 and receives the reflected waves of the radio waves reflected by the object. The millimeter-wave radar 41 can detect the presence of the object associated with the reflected wave, the distance to the object, the shape of the object, etc. based on the time from the timing of transmitting the radio wave to receiving the reflected wave. The distance information acquired by the millimeter-wave radar 41 includes information about the presence of the object, the distance to the object, and the shape of the object, etc. Note that the radio wave is irradiated to a plurality of regions in a predetermined range around the vehicle 100, and the distance information includes information about the presence of the object, the distance to the object, and the shape of the object, etc. for each of the number of regions irradiated with the radio wave.

[0019] The outside-vehicle imaging device 42 is, for example, a front camera, and acquires, as vehicle surrounding information, a captured image of the front of the vehicle 100 (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle front image"). The outside-vehicle imaging device 42 is an infrared camera or a visible light camera.

[0020] The surrounding information acquisition device 4 outputs the acquired vehicle surrounding information to the headlight control device 1. Specifically, the millimeter-wave radar 41 outputs the distance information to the headlight control device 1, and the outside-vehicle imaging device 42 outputs the vehicle front image to the headlight control device 1.

[0021] A configuration example of the headlight control device 1 will be described. The headlight control device 1 includes an in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, an orientation detection unit 12, a surrounding information acquisition unit 13, a target object presence / absence determination unit 14, a target object situation determination unit 15, a control content determination unit 16, and a light distribution control unit 17.

[0022] The in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 acquires an in-vehicle captured image from the in-vehicle imaging device 3. The in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 outputs the acquired in-vehicle captured image to the orientation detection unit 12. Note that the function of the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 may be provided in the orientation detection unit 12.

[0023] The orientation detection unit 12 detects the orientation of the driver based on the in-vehicle captured image acquired by the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 from the in-vehicle imaging device 3. The orientation detection unit 12 uses a known image recognition technique to detect the orientation of the driver, in other words, the face orientation or line-of-sight direction of the driver. Since the image recognition techniques for detecting the face orientation of a person from a captured image in which the person's face is captured and for detecting the line-of-sight direction of a person from a captured image in which the person's face is captured are known techniques, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0024] In Embodiment 1, the orientation of the driver is represented by an angle with respect to a reference direction. In Embodiment 1, the reference direction is, for example, the linear direction passing through the center of the driver's head and a point in front of the center of the head. Since the installation position and the imaging angle of the in-vehicle imaging device 3 are known in advance, the orientation detection unit 12 can calculate the position of the center of the driver's head. The position of the center of the driver's head is a point in the real space and is represented by, for example, coordinate values that can be mapped on a map. The orientation of the driver is represented by, for example, a horizontal angle and a vertical angle with respect to the above reference direction. Specifically, the orientation of the driver is, for example, based on the case where the driver faces the front with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 as a reference (0 degrees). The left - right orientation of the driver is represented by an angle that increases as the driver turns to the right with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 from the state of facing the front, and is represented by an angle that decreases as the driver turns to the left with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 from the state of facing the front. Also, the up - down orientation of the driver is represented by an angle that increases as the driver turns upward with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 from the state of facing the front, and is represented by an angle that decreases as the driver turns downward with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 from the state of facing the front. Note that in Embodiment 1, the front is not strictly limited to the exact front, but includes the approximate front.

[0025] Also, when the orientation detection unit 12 detects the orientation of the driver, based on the detected orientation of the driver, it calculates the position that is estimated to be the position the driver is trying to visually recognize (hereinafter referred to as the "estimated visual recognition position"). For example, the estimated visual recognition position is represented by the angle and distance as seen from the position of the vehicle 100, in other words, a point at what direction and how far from the position of the vehicle 100. Note that the estimated visual recognition position is a point in the real space. In Embodiment 1, which point is taken as the position of the vehicle 100 is determined in advance. For example, the position of the vehicle 100 is a point on the front end of the vehicle. For example, the position of the vehicle 100 may be the installation position of the headlight 2. The installation position of the in - vehicle imaging device 3, the viewing angle of the in - vehicle imaging device 3, the orientation of the driver, and the positional relationship between the head position of the driver serving as the reference for the orientation of the driver and the installation position of the in - vehicle imaging device 3 are known in advance. Also, the positional relationship between the position of the vehicle 100 and the installation position of the in - vehicle imaging device 3 is known in advance. The orientation detection unit 12 can calculate the estimated visual recognition position of the driver from the orientation of the driver detected based on the in - vehicle captured image. For example, the orientation detection unit 12 estimates the intersection of the virtual straight line indicating the viewing direction of the right eye and the virtual straight line indicating the viewing direction of the left eye as the estimated visual recognition position for the viewing direction of the driver, and calculates the coordinates of the estimated visual recognition position. The orientation detection unit 12 outputs information in which the detected orientation of the driver and the calculated estimated visual recognition position of the driver are associated (hereinafter referred to as "orientation information") to the target object presence / absence determination unit 14.

[0026] The surrounding information acquisition unit 13 acquires vehicle surrounding information from the surrounding information acquisition device 4. Specifically, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13 acquires distance information and a vehicle front image from the millimeter-wave radar 41 and the out-of-vehicle imaging device 42, respectively. The surrounding information acquisition unit 13 outputs the acquired vehicle surrounding information to the target object presence / absence determination unit 14. Note that the function of the surrounding information acquisition unit 13 may be provided in the target object presence / absence determination unit 14.

[0027] Based on the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12 and the vehicle surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines whether there is a target object that is estimated to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing. For example, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing when an object is detected within a range centered on the estimated visual recognition position and expanded horizontally and vertically in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 by a preset distance from the estimated visual recognition position (hereinafter referred to as the "target object determination orientation range"). When no object is detected within the target object determination orientation range, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing. Note that the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 may determine whether an object exists within the target object determination orientation range based on the distance information acquired by the millimeter-wave radar 41. The size of the target object determination orientation range can be set as appropriate. The installation position of the millimeter-wave radar 41, the radio wave irradiation range, and the positional relationship between the position of the vehicle 100 and the installation position of the millimeter-wave radar 41 are known in advance. Based on this information, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 can determine, for example, at what position in what direction and at what distance from the vehicle 100 the object detected by the millimeter-wave radar 41 exists as seen from the vehicle 100. Therefore, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 can determine whether an object has been detected within the target object determination direction range.

[0028] Note that the method for determining whether there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing as described above is merely an example. The target object presence / absence determination unit 14 may determine whether there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing based on, for example, the image of the front of the vehicle acquired by the out-of-vehicle imaging device 42.

[0029] The target object presence / absence determination unit 14 generates information indicating whether it has determined that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing (hereinafter referred to as "target object presence / absence determination information"), and outputs the target object presence / absence determination information to the target object situation determination unit 15. At this time, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 associates the target object presence / absence determination information with the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12 and the vehicle surrounding information output from the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, and outputs it to the target object situation determination unit 15.

[0030] When the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, the target object situation determination unit 15 determines the situation in which the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information. Note that based on the target object presence / absence determination information, the target object situation determination unit 15 can determine that the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 has determined that a target object is presumed to exist.

[0031] In Embodiment 1, the situation in which the target object is placed includes the type of the target object, the size of the target object, the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object, or the brightness of the surface of the target object.

[0032] The type of the target object is, specifically, assumed to be a person or non - person. The target object situation determination unit 15 can determine whether the type of the target object is a person or non - person, for example, by performing image recognition processing using known image recognition technology on the front - vehicle image included in the vehicle surrounding information.

[0033] The size of the target object is, specifically, assumed to be the height as seen from the vehicle 100. The target object situation determination unit 15 can determine the height of the target object, for example, by performing image recognition processing using known image recognition technology on the front - vehicle image and based on the height of the target object on the front - vehicle image and the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object. Since the relationship between the installation position and radio wave irradiation range of the millimeter - wave radar 41 and the installation position and angle of view of the out - vehicle imaging device 42 is known in advance, the target object situation determination unit 15 can associate the object on the front - vehicle image with the object indicated by the distance information. For example, the target object situation determination unit 15 may determine the height of the target object from the information regarding the size of the target object included in the distance information.

[0034] Note that, for example, at a stage where the headlight 2 is not controlled to irradiate light above the cut - off line, insufficient light is irradiated onto the target object, and there is a possibility that the type (person or non - person) or size of the target object cannot be determined from the front - vehicle image. In this case, for example, the target object situation determination unit 15 requests the light distribution control unit 17 to irradiate light (hereinafter referred to as "illumination for target object determination") for determining the type or size of the target object. The irradiation range and irradiation light amount of the illumination for target object determination can be set as appropriate. In FIG. 1, the illustration of the arrow from the target object situation determination unit 15 to the light distribution control unit 17 is omitted.

[0035] Also, since the positional relationship between the installation position of the millimeter - wave radar 41 and the position of the vehicle 100 is known in advance, the target object situation determination unit 15 can know the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object based on the distance information.

[0036] Further, the target object situation determination unit 15 can determine the brightness of the surface of the target object, for example, from the brightness of the range in which the target object is imaged on the front image of the vehicle. The target object situation determination unit 15 uses, for example, the average value of the luminance values of the pixels included in the range in which the target object is imaged on the front image of the vehicle as the brightness of the range in which the target object is imaged on the front image of the vehicle, in other words, as the brightness of the surface of the target object.

[0037] The target object situation determination unit 15 outputs the determined information regarding the situation in which the target object is placed (hereinafter referred to as "target object situation information") to the control content determination unit 16. At this time, the target object situation determination unit 15 associates the target object situation information, the target object presence / absence determination information, the orientation information, and the vehicle surrounding information, and outputs them to the control content determination unit 16.

[0038] When the target object presence / absence determination information indicating that no target object is present in the direction in which the driver is facing is output from the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15 does not need to determine the situation in which the target object is placed. In this case, the target object situation determination unit 15 associates, for example, the target object presence / absence determination information, the orientation information, and the vehicle surrounding information, and outputs them to the control content determination unit 16.

[0039] When the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is a target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the irradiation range and irradiation light amount of the light by the headlight 2 provided in the vehicle 100 based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object determined by the target object situation determination unit 15 is placed and the orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit 12. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines, in the direction in which the driver is facing, which range among the high beam irradiation possible area, the low beam irradiation possible area, and the auxiliary light irradiation possible area is to be the irradiation range of the light by the headlight 2, and how much irradiation light amount to irradiate the light in the irradiation range of the headlight 2. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines the vertical range and the horizontal range in the irradiation range in the direction the driver is facing. The vertical range in the irradiation range and the horizontal range in the irradiation range are represented, for example, as angles viewed from the installation position of the headlight 2 with the installation position of the headlight 2 as the reference (0 degrees). Since the positional relationship between the head position of the driver serving as the reference in the direction the driver is facing and the installation position of the headlight 2 is known in advance, the control content determination unit 16 can associate the driver's orientation with the light irradiation range by the headlight 2. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine from the target object presence / absence determination information that the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 has determined that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing. In the following description, the light irradiation range by the headlight 2 is also simply referred to as the "irradiation range". Also, the amount of irradiation light in the light irradiation range by the headlight 2 is also simply referred to as the "irradiation light amount".

[0040] An example of the method for determining the irradiation range and the irradiation light amount by the control content determination unit 16 will be described. The control content determination unit 16 determines the irradiation range and the irradiation light amount in the direction the driver is facing, for example, based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and the control content determination conditions for determining the control content of the headlight 2 in the direction the driver is facing. The control content determination conditions are generated in advance by an administrator or the like and stored in a location where the control content determination unit 16 can refer to them. The control content determination conditions are set with conditions such as the following <Condition 1> to <Condition 5>, for example.

[0041] <Condition 1> When the distance from the vehicle to the target object is less than the distance determination threshold, the vertical direction maintains the cut-off line. In other words, it does not include above the cut-off line and is below the cut-off line, and in the horizontal direction, the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle with the driver's orientation as the reference is set as the irradiation range. The irradiation light amount is arbitrary. <Condition 2> When the brightness of the surface of the target object is equal to or greater than the brightness determination threshold value, the vertical direction maintains the cut-off line. In other words, it is below the cut-off line and does not include above the cut-off line. In the horizontal direction, the irradiation range is the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation. The irradiation light quantity is arbitrary. <Condition 3> When the target object is within the irradiation range of the passing light, the vertical direction maintains the cut-off line. In other words, it is below the cut-off line and does not include above the cut-off line. In the horizontal direction, the irradiation range is the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation. The irradiation light quantity is arbitrary. <Condition 4> When the type of the target object is a person and the distance from the vehicle to the person is equal to or greater than the distance determination threshold value, in the vertical direction, it is the range below the person's head, and in the horizontal direction, the irradiation range is the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation. The irradiation light quantity increases as the distance from the vehicle to the person increases. <Condition 5> When the type of the target object is not a person and the distance from the vehicle to the target object is equal to or greater than the distance determination threshold value, in the vertical direction, it is the range below the height of the target object, and in the horizontal direction, the irradiation range is the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation. The irradiation light quantity increases as the distance from the vehicle to the target object increases.

[0042] For the distance determination threshold value, brightness determination threshold value, horizontal irradiation angle, and vertical irradiation angle in the control content determination conditions, predetermined values are set in advance by an administrator or the like. The distance determination threshold value, brightness determination threshold value, horizontal irradiation angle, and vertical irradiation angle in the control content determination conditions are stored in a location that can be referenced by the control content determination unit 16 together with the control content determination conditions. The distance determination threshold value under <Condition 1>, the distance determination threshold value under <Condition 2>, and the distance determination threshold value under <Condition 3> may be the same value or different values. Here, as an example, the distance determination threshold value under <Condition 1>, the distance determination threshold value under <Condition 2>, and the distance determination threshold value under <Condition 3> are set to the same value. In Embodiment 1, the "vertical direction" refers to the height direction of the vehicle 100, and the "left - right direction" refers to the width direction of the vehicle 100.

[0043] Note that the content of the conditions for determining the control content as described above is only an example. An administrator or the like can appropriately set the content of the conditions for determining the control content.

[0044] Here, in Embodiment 1, regarding an example of the irradiation range and irradiation light amount in the direction the driver is facing, which are determined by the control content determination unit 16 based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and the conditions for determining the control content, a specific example will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the conditions for determining the control content are set with contents such as the above - mentioned <Condition 1> to <Condition 5>. In the conditions for determining the control content, assume that the distance determination threshold value is "30 (m)", the brightness determination threshold value is "B (B is an integer)", the horizontal irradiation angle is "0.5 (degrees)", and the vertical irradiation angle is "0.5 (degrees)". FIGS. 2 to 6 are diagrams showing an example of the irradiation range and irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit 16 when there is a target object in Embodiment 1. FIGS. 2 to 6 show the road on which the vehicle 100 is traveling as viewed from the right side with respect to the traveling direction. Note that FIGS. 2 to 6 are, for convenience, shown as if light is actually being irradiated from the headlight 2 of the vehicle 100. However, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content (irradiation range and irradiation light amount), and does not actually irradiate light to the headlight 2. The light irradiation control for the headlight 2 is performed by the light distribution control unit 17. In FIGS. 2 to 6, it is shown how the state will be when light is irradiated with the irradiation range and irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit 16. Also, here, for example, the irradiation range of the passing light is set to a range of distances from the vehicle 100 to 30 (m). Note that the distances shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 6 mean the distances from the vehicle 100 to the target object.

[0045] <Example 1> For example, as shown in FIG. 2, assume that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing and the distance between the vehicle 100 and the target object is 25 (m). That is, the situation where the target object is placed is a situation where it is located at a distance of 25 (m) from the vehicle 100. In this case, based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 1> of the control content determination conditions, the control content determination unit 16 maintains the cut-off offline in the vertical direction. In other words, it does not include the area above the cut-off offline and is below the cut-off offline, and in the horizontal direction, the irradiation range is the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine from the target object situation information that the distance between the vehicle 100 and the target object is 25 (m). Also, the control content determination unit 16 can determine the driver's orientation from the orientation information. The vertical range to maintain the cut-off offline is known in advance. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 sets the vertical range in the irradiation range as the range where the cut-off offline is maintained in the direction the driver is facing, and sets the horizontal range in the irradiation range as the range of ±0.5 (degrees) of the driver's orientation. The control content determination unit 16 makes the irradiation light amount arbitrary. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 sets the irradiation light amount to a preset reference value.

[0046] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 such that the light from the headlight 2 is irradiated onto the irradiation range shown as "LA1" in FIG. 2 with the irradiation light amount of the reference value. Even if there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, if the position of the target object is close to the vehicle 100, the driver can visually recognize the target object just by the passing light being irradiated on the target object.

[0047] <Example 2> For example, as shown in FIG. 3, assume that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing. However, as shown in FIG. 3, since the light of the street lamp is irradiated in the range indicated by "CA" in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the light of the street lamp is hitting the target object. Therefore, in the front image of the vehicle, the range where the target object is imaged has sufficient luminance values. That is, assume that the situation where the target object is placed is a situation where the brightness of the surface of the target object is equal to or greater than the brightness determination threshold value "B". In this case, based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 2> of the control content determination condition, the control content determination unit 16 maintains the cut-off line in the vertical direction. In other words, it does not include the area above the cut-off line and is below the cut-off line, and in the horizontal direction, the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation is set as the irradiation range. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine the brightness of the surface of the target object from the target object situation information. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 sets the vertical range in the irradiation range as the range where the cut-off line is maintained in the direction the driver is facing, and sets the horizontal range in the irradiation range as the range of the driver's orientation ±0.5 (degrees). The control content determination unit 16 makes the irradiation light amount arbitrary. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 sets the irradiation light amount as a preset reference value.

[0048] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 so that the light from the headlight 2 is irradiated with the irradiation light amount of the reference value in the irradiation range as shown by "LA2" in FIG. 3. Even if there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing and the position of the target object is, for example, far from the vehicle 100 to such an extent that the passing light does not irradiate it, if the target object is irradiated with light other than the light irradiated by the headlight 2 (for example, streetlights in this <Example 2>), the driver can visually recognize the target object by the light other than the light irradiated by the headlight 2. That is, even if the headlight 2 does not irradiate light above the cut-off line, the driver can visually recognize the target object, so there is no need for the headlight 2 to irradiate light above the cut-off line.

[0049] <Example 3> For example, as shown in FIG. 4, assume that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing and the distance between the vehicle 100 and the target object is 15 (m). That is, the situation where the target object is placed is a situation where it is located at a distance of 15 (m) from the vehicle 100. In this case, based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 3> of the control content determination conditions, the control content determination unit 16 maintains the cut-off line in the vertical direction. In other words, it does not include above the cut-off line and is below the cut-off line, and in the horizontal direction, the range widened left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation is set as the irradiation range. Specifically, in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 sets the vertical range in the irradiation range as the range where the cut-off line is maintained, and sets the horizontal range in the irradiation range as the range of the driver's orientation ±0.5 (degrees). The control content determination unit 16 makes the irradiation light amount arbitrary. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 sets the irradiation light amount as a preset reference value.

[0050] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 such that the light from the headlight 2 is irradiated with the irradiation light amount of the reference value within the irradiation range shown as "LA3" in FIG. 4. Even if there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, if the position where the target object is located is within the irradiation range of the passing light, the driver can visually recognize the target object just by the passing light irradiating the target object.

[0051] The following <Example 4> and <Example 5> will be described with reference to FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, for the sake of convenience, in the direction the driver is facing, the case where a person is at a position 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 and the case where a person is at a position 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 are shown together. Note that, for the sake of convenience, the scale in FIG. 5 is different from the actual scale.

[0052] <Example 4> For example, as shown in FIG. 5, there is a person (shown as M1 in FIG. 5. Hereinafter referred to as the "first person") in the direction the driver is facing, and the first person is at a position 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 in front of the vehicle 100. That is, the situation where the target object is placed is a situation where it is located at a distance of 48 (m) from the vehicle 100. Also, the situation where the target object is placed is a situation where the type is a person. In this case, based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 4> of the control content determination conditions, the control content determination unit 16 sets the vertical direction to a range below the head of the first person, and the horizontal direction to a range widened left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation as the irradiation range. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine from the target object situation information that the type of the target object is a person and the distance between the vehicle 100 and the first person is 48 (m). Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines, in the direction the driver is facing, the vertical range in the irradiation range, for example, based on the installation position of the headlight 2, as a range from the installation position to θ1 degrees above the cut-off line when viewed from the installation position.

[0053] Here, the control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ1 degrees" based on the height to the head of the first person. The control content determination unit 16 can calculate, for example, the height up to the head of the first person on the vehicle front image by performing image recognition processing using a known image recognition technique on the vehicle front image. If the control content determination unit 16 can calculate the height up to the head of the first person on the vehicle front image, it can calculate the ratio of the height up to the head of the first person to the height of the first person on the vehicle front image. Based on the calculated ratio and the height of the first person based on the distance information, the control content determination unit 16 can calculate "θ1 degrees". Note that the above-described method for calculating the height up to the head of the first person is merely an example, and the control content determination unit 16 may calculate the height up to the head of the first person by other methods. For example, the control content determination unit 16 may use two-thirds of the height of the first person based on the distance information as the height up to the head of the first person. The control content determination unit 16 sets the range in the left-right direction in the irradiation range to the range of the driver's orientation ±0.5 (degrees).

[0054] Also, for the irradiation light amount, the control content determination unit 16 sets it to the irradiation light amount corresponding to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object. For example, it is assumed that it is preset how much the light amount of the additional light is to be made smaller or larger than the reference value when the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object is a certain value.

[0055] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 so that the light from the headlight 2 is irradiated with the irradiation light amount corresponding to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the first person in the irradiation range shown as "LA4" in FIG. 5.

[0056] <Example 5> For example, as shown in FIG. 5, there is a person (shown as M2 in FIG. 5. Hereinafter referred to as the "second person") in the direction the driver is facing, and the second person is at a position 70 m from the vehicle 100 in front of the vehicle 100. That is, the situation where the target object is placed is a situation where it is located at a distance of 70 m from the vehicle 100. Also, the situation where the target object is placed is a situation where the type is a person. In this case, the control content determination unit 16, in the same manner as in the above <Example 4>, based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 4> of the control content determination conditions, sets the vertical direction as the range below the head of the second person, and sets the horizontal direction as the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation as the irradiation range. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines, in the direction the driver is facing, the vertical range in the irradiation range, for example, based on the installation position of the headlight 2, as the range from the installation position to θ2 degrees above the cut-off line as viewed from the installation position. The control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ2 degrees" based on the height up to the head of the second person. Since the control content determination unit 16 may calculate "θ2 degrees" in the same manner as the above-described "θ1 degree", duplicate explanations are omitted. The control content determination unit 16 sets the horizontal range in the irradiation range as the range of the driver's orientation ± 0.5 (degrees).

[0057] However, for the irradiation light amount, the control content determination unit 16 sets it as the irradiation light amount corresponding to the distance of 70 m from the vehicle 100 to the target object. Based on <Condition 4>, the control content determination unit 16 makes the irradiation light amount in this case larger than the irradiation light amount in the above <Example 4>. For example, as the amount of irradiation light corresponding to the distance 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object, an amount of irradiation light larger than the amount of irradiation light corresponding to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object is preset, and the control content determination unit 16 sets the amount of irradiation light according thereto. Further, for example, conditions for how much to increase the amount of irradiation light for every certain distance away from the vehicle 100 are preset and stored in a place where the control content determination unit 16 can refer, and the control content determination unit 16 may set the amount of irradiation light according to the conditions.

[0058] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 so that the light from the headlight 2 is irradiated with the amount of irradiation light corresponding to the distance 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the second person in the irradiation range shown by "LA5" in FIG. 5. The amount of irradiation light in the irradiation range shown by "LA5" in FIG. 5 is larger than the amount of irradiation light in the irradiation range shown by "LA4" in FIG. 5. Therefore, in FIG. 5, the irradiation range shown by LA5 is shown darker than the irradiation range shown by LA4.

[0059] When there is a target object at a position separated from the vehicle 100 by a distance such that the passing light is not irradiated in the direction the driver is facing, it is necessary to brightly illuminate the target object with the light irradiated above the cutoff line so that the driver can easily visually recognize the target object. On the other hand, when the target object is a person, if the light irradiates up to the person's head, there is a possibility of giving glare to the person. As in the above <Example 4> and <Example 5>, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 so that the vertical direction of the irradiation range, that is, the height direction of the irradiated light, reaches the height of the person's head, so that glare is not given to the person when the light is irradiated. The actual light irradiation control for the headlight 2 is performed by the light distribution control unit 17. If the driver can see light in the range below the person's head, the driver can sufficiently recognize the presence of the person even if the person's head is not illuminated by the light. Also, when the driver tries to visually recognize a target object, the amount of irradiation light required to visually recognize the target object increases as the target object is located farther from the vehicle 100. The control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 such that the irradiation light amount is suppressed when the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object is small, and the irradiation light amount increases as the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object increases. By doing so, the headlight 2 can be irradiated with light having an irradiation light amount corresponding to the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object, and power saving can be achieved.

[0060] The following <Example 6> and <Example 7> will be described with reference to FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, for the sake of convenience, a case where a target object (stationary object) other than a person is located at a position 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 and a case where a target object (stationary object) other than a person is located at a position 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 in the direction in which the driver is facing are shown together. Note that, for the sake of convenience, the scale in FIG. 5 is different from the actual scale.

[0061] <Example 6> For example, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a stationary object (denoted by M3 in FIG. 6; hereinafter referred to as the "first stationary object") in the direction in which the driver is facing, and the first stationary object is located at a position 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 in front of the vehicle 100. That is, the situation where the target object is placed is a situation where it is located at a distance of 48 (m) from the vehicle 100. Also, the situation where the target object is placed is a situation where the type is other than a person. In this case, the control content determination unit 16 sets the vertical direction to a range below the height of the first stationary object and the horizontal direction to a range widened left and right by a horizontal irradiation angle based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 5> of the control content determination conditions as the irradiation range. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine from the target object situation information that the type of the target object is other than a person and that the distance between the vehicle 100 and the first stationary object is 48 (m). Specifically, in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the vertical range in the irradiation range, for example, with reference to the installation position of the headlight 2, as the range from the installation position up to θ3 degrees above the cut-off line when viewed from the installation position. Here, the control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ3 degrees" based on the height of the first stationary object. For example, the control content determination unit 16 can calculate "θ3 degrees" based on the height of the first stationary object based on the distance information. The control content determination unit 16 sets the horizontal range in the irradiation range to the range of the driver's orientation ±0.5 (degrees).

[0062] Also, for the irradiation light amount, the control content determination unit 16 sets it to the irradiation light amount corresponding to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object.

[0063] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 so that the light from the headlight 2 is irradiated onto the irradiation range as shown by "LA6" in FIG. 6 with the irradiation light amount corresponding to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the first stationary object.

[0064] <Example 7> For example, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a stationary object (shown as M4 in FIG. 6. Hereinafter referred to as the "second stationary object") in the direction the driver is facing, and it is assumed that the second stationary object is at a position 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 in front of the vehicle 100. That is, the situation where the target object is placed is the situation where it is located at a distance of 70 (m) from the vehicle 100. Also, the situation where the target object is placed is the situation where the type is other than a person. In this case, the control content determination unit 16, in the same manner as in <Example 6> above, based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 5> of the control content determination conditions, sets the vertical direction as the range below the height of the second stationary object, and sets the horizontal direction as the range widened left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle with reference to the driver's orientation as the irradiation range. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines the vertical range in the irradiation range in the direction the driver is facing, for example, based on the installation position of the headlight 2, as the range from the installation position to θ4 degrees above the cut-off line when viewed from the installation position. The control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ4 degrees" based on the height of the second stationary object. Since the control content determination unit 16 may calculate "θ4 degrees" in the same manner as the described "θ3 degrees", duplicate explanations are omitted. The control content determination unit 16 sets the left - right range in the irradiation range to be within ±0.5 (degrees) of the driver's direction.

[0065] However, for the irradiation light amount, the control content determination unit 16 sets it to be the irradiation light amount corresponding to the distance 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object. Based on <Condition 5>, the control content determination unit 16 makes the irradiation light amount in this case larger than the irradiation light amount in the above - mentioned <Example 6>.

[0066] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 such that light from the headlight 2 is irradiated with the irradiation light amount corresponding to the distance 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the second stationary object within the irradiation range shown as "LA7" in FIG. 6. The irradiation light amount in the irradiation range shown as "LA7" in FIG. 6 is larger than the irradiation light amount in the irradiation range shown as "LA6" in FIG. 6. Therefore, in FIG. 6, the irradiation range shown by LA7 is illustrated darker than the irradiation range shown by LA6.

[0067] When there is a target object at a position away from the vehicle 100 by a distance such that the cut-off line does not irradiate the target object in the direction the driver is facing, it is necessary to brightly illuminate the target object with light irradiated above the cut-off line so that the driver can easily visually recognize the target object. The control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 so that the vertical direction of the irradiation range, that is, the height direction of the irradiated light, reaches the height of the target object, thereby enabling the driver to easily visually recognize the target object. When the target object is an object other than a person, even if the entire target object is irradiated with light, there is no concern of causing glare to the target object. Also, when the driver tries to visually recognize a target object, the farther the target object is located from the vehicle 100, the greater the amount of irradiation light required to visually recognize the target object. The control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 such that the amount of irradiation light is suppressed when the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object is small, and the amount of irradiation light increases as the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object increases. By doing so, the headlight 2 can be irradiated with light having an irradiation light amount corresponding to the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object, and power saving can be achieved.

[0068] When the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the irradiation range and irradiation light amount of the light from the headlight 2 provided in the vehicle 100 as the irradiation range and irradiation light amount set in advance as the irradiation range and irradiation light amount when there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, based on the direction information regarding the driver's direction detected by the direction detection unit 12. For example, information (hereinafter referred to as "control content information without target object") defining the irradiation range and irradiation light amount when there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing is generated in advance and stored in a location where the control content determination unit 16 can refer to it. The control content information without target object defines, for example, the following contents. "When there is no target object, the vertical direction is set as the range expanded upward by the vertical irradiation angle compared to the cut-off line, and the horizontal direction is set as the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's direction, and this is the irradiation range. The irradiation light quantity is arbitrary." Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine, for example, based on the target object presence / absence determination information output from the target object situation determination unit 15, that the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 has determined that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing. Note that the vertical irradiation angle and the horizontal irradiation angle in the control content information for no target object may be the same values as the vertical irradiation angle and the horizontal irradiation angle in the control content determination conditions, or may be different values. Here, as an example, the vertical irradiation angle and the horizontal irradiation angle in the control content information for no target object are set to the same values as the vertical irradiation angle and the horizontal irradiation angle in the control content determination conditions.

[0069] <Example 8> For example, when there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16, based on the direction information and the control content information for no target object, sets the vertical direction as the range expanded upward by the vertical irradiation angle compared to the cut-off line, and the horizontal direction as the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's direction, as the irradiation range. For example, if the horizontal irradiation angle is set to "0.5 (degrees)" and the vertical irradiation angle is set to "0.5 (degrees)", specifically, the control content determination unit 16 sets the vertical range in the irradiation range as the range of cut-off line + 0.5 (degrees) in the direction the driver is facing, and the horizontal range in the irradiation range as the range of the driver's direction ± 0.5 (degrees). The control content determination unit 16 makes the irradiation light quantity arbitrary. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 sets the irradiation light quantity to a preset reference value. Even if there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, by irradiating light in the direction the driver is facing, the driver can recognize, for example, a sudden emergence.

[0070] As described in the above examples (<Example 1> to <Example 8>), when the control content determination unit 16 determines the irradiation range and irradiation light amount of the light by the headlight 2, the determined control content for the headlight 2, here, the information indicating the irradiation range and irradiation light amount (hereinafter referred to as "determined control content information") is output to the light distribution control unit 17.

[0071] Return to the description of the configuration example of the headlight control device 1 shown in FIG. 1. The light distribution control unit 17 irradiates light on the headlight 2 based on the irradiation range or irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit 16. Specifically, the light distribution control unit 17 irradiates light on the headlight 2 in the irradiation range indicated by the determined control content information output from the control content determination unit 16 with the irradiation light amount indicated by the determined control content information. For example, when the irradiation range indicated by the determined control content information is θ1 degrees or less above the cut-off line as viewed from the installation position of the headlight 2 in the vertical direction and ±0.5 (degrees) in the horizontal direction with respect to the driver's direction, and the irradiation light amount is the irradiation light amount corresponding to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object (see the above <Example 4>), the light distribution control unit 17 irradiates light in the range up to θ1 degrees above the cut-off line as viewed from the installation position of the headlight 2 in the vertical direction, and lights the light source that irradiates ±0.5 (degrees) in the horizontal direction with respect to the driver's direction with the light amount corresponding to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object. Also, for example, when the irradiation range indicated by the determination control content information is a vertical range, the cut-off offline is maintained, and the horizontal range is a range of ±0.5 (degrees) of the driver's orientation. When the irradiation light quantity is the reference value (refer to the above <Example 1>), the light distribution control unit 17 turns on a light source that irradiates below the cut-off offline in the vertical direction and irradiates ±0.5 (degrees) of the driver's orientation in the horizontal direction with the light quantity serving as the reference value. Regarding the control by the light distribution control unit 17 to set the vertical range of the irradiation range to a range that maintains the cut-off offline, for example, in the headlight 2, if the low beam, high beam, and auxiliary light are each separate light sources, the light distribution control unit 17 may turn on the light source that irradiates light within the range where the cut-off offline is maintained among the low beam light sources and turn off the other light sources. Also, for example, in the headlight 2, if the light sources of the low beam, high beam, and auxiliary light are integrated, the light distribution control unit 17 may turn on the light sources necessary for irradiating below the cut-off offline among the integrated light sources and turn off the other light sources.

[0072] The operation of the headlight control device 1 according to Embodiment 1 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the headlight control device 1 according to Embodiment 1. When the headlight 2 is in the on state, for example, the headlight control device 1 determines to perform lighting control of the headlight 2 based on the driver's orientation and starts the operation as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7. The headlight control device 1 repeats the operation as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 until, for example, the headlight 2 is turned off or the power supply of the vehicle 100 is turned off. For example, the control unit (not shown) of the headlight control device 1 acquires information indicating the state of the headlight 2 from the headlight switch mounted on the vehicle 100, and determines whether the headlight 2 is in the on state. When the control unit determines that the headlight 2 is in the on state, it determines to start the lighting control of the headlight 2 based on the driver's orientation, and outputs information instructing the start of the lighting control of the headlight 2 to the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the presence / absence determination unit 14 of the target object, the situation determination unit 15 of the target object, the control content determination unit 16, and the light distribution control unit 17. Also, when the control unit determines that the headlight 2 is in the off state or the vehicle 100 has been turned off, it determines to end the lighting control of the headlight 2 based on the driver's orientation, and outputs information instructing the end of the lighting control of the headlight 2 to the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the presence / absence determination unit 14 of the target object, the situation determination unit 15 of the target object, the control content determination unit 16, and the light distribution control unit 17.

[0073] The in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 acquires an in-vehicle captured image from the in-vehicle imaging device 3, and the orientation detection unit 12 detects the driver's orientation based on the in-vehicle captured image acquired by the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 from the in-vehicle imaging device 3 (step ST1). Also, when the orientation detection unit 12 detects the driver's orientation in step ST1, it calculates the estimated visual recognition position of the driver based on the detected driver's orientation. The orientation detection unit 12 outputs orientation information to the presence / absence determination unit 14 of the target object.

[0074] Based on the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12 in step ST1 and the vehicle surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the presence / absence determination unit 14 of the target object determines whether there is a target object that is estimated to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing (step ST2). Note that the surrounding information acquisition unit 13 acquires the vehicle surrounding information before the process of step ST2 is performed. The target object presence / absence determination unit 14 generates target object presence / absence determination information and outputs the target object presence / absence determination information to the target object situation determination unit 15. At this time, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 associates the target object presence / absence determination information, the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12, and the vehicle surrounding information output from the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, and outputs the associated information to the target object situation determination unit 15.

[0075] In step ST2, when the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, the target object situation determination unit 15 determines the situation where the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information (step ST3). At this time, the target object situation determination unit 15 may, for example, request the light distribution control unit 17 to irradiate the target object determination lighting, and determine the situation where the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information obtained after the target object determination lighting is irradiated, more specifically, based on the vehicle front image. The target object situation determination unit 15 outputs the target object situation information to the control content determination unit 16. At this time, the target object situation determination unit 15 associates the target object situation information, the target object presence / absence determination information, the orientation information, and the vehicle surrounding information, and outputs the associated information to the control content determination unit 16. Note that in step ST2, when the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the target object situation determination unit 15, for example, associates the target object presence / absence determination information, the orientation information, and the vehicle surrounding information, and outputs the associated information to the control content determination unit 16.

[0076] When the object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines in step ST2 that there is an object in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines, based on the object situation information regarding the situation where the object determined by the object situation determination unit 15 in step ST3 is placed and the orientation information regarding the driver's orientation detected by the orientation detection unit 12 in step ST1, the irradiation range and irradiation light amount of the light by the headlight 2 provided in the vehicle 100 (step ST4). For example, the control content determination unit 16 determines the irradiation range and irradiation light amount in the direction the driver is facing based on the object situation information, the orientation information, and the control content determination conditions. When the object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines in step ST2 that there is no object in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines, based on the orientation information and the no-object control content information, the irradiation range and irradiation light amount of the light by the headlight 2 provided in the vehicle 100 as the irradiation range and irradiation light amount preset as the irradiation range and irradiation light amount when there is no object in the direction the driver is facing. The control content determination unit 16 outputs the determined control content information to the light distribution control unit 17.

[0077] The light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlight 2. Specifically, the light distribution control unit 17 causes the headlight 2 to irradiate light within the irradiation range determined by the control content determination unit 16 in step ST4 with the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit 16 (step ST5).

[0078] In this way, based on the orientation information regarding the driver's orientation detected based on the captured image (in-vehicle captured image) of the driver of the vehicle 100 and the vehicle surrounding information, the headlight control device 1 determines whether there is a target object that is estimated to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing. When it is determined that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, based on the vehicle surrounding information, the situation in which the target object is placed is determined. Then, based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object is placed and the orientation information, the headlight control device 1 determines the irradiation range and irradiation light amount of the light by the headlight 2, and causes the headlight 2 to irradiate light based on the determined irradiation range and irradiation light amount. Therefore, the headlight control device 1 can perform lighting control considering the situation in which an object (target object) existing in the direction the driver is facing is placed in the lighting control of the headlight 2 based on the direction the driver is facing in the vehicle 100. As a result, the headlight control device 1 can perform control of the headlight 2 that is preferable for making it easier for the driver to visually recognize the object according to the situation in which the object existing in the direction the driver is facing is placed. In addition, since the headlight control device 1 can irradiate light only when additional light such as light above the cutoff line is required in the direction the driver is facing, the scene in which the driver is aware of the movement of the light by the headlight 2 is limited. As a result, the headlight control device 1 can reduce the annoyance that can be given to the driver by the movement of the light by the headlight 2.

[0079] In the above-described Embodiment 1, for example, when there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, in the headlight control device 1, the control content determination unit 16 sets the vertical direction as a range expanded upward by the vertical irradiation angle from the cut-off line by a certain amount, and the horizontal direction as a range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation as the irradiation range. Regarding the irradiation light amount, it was set to a reference value. Then, the light distribution control unit 17, in accordance with the control content determined by the control content determination unit 16, for the headlight 2, in the vertical direction, sets it as a range including above the cut-off line and expanded upward by the vertical irradiation angle from the cut-off line, and in the horizontal direction, sets it as a range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation, and irradiates light with the control light amount of the reference value in this irradiation range (refer to <Example 8> described above). For example, the headlight control device 1 may further perform control to reduce the irradiation light amount when, within a predetermined period, in a state where there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the irradiation range of light moves by a predetermined distance following the direction the driver is facing, and it is assumed that the light will cause annoyance to the driver. This will be described in detail below.

[0080] For example, when the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, first, the light distribution control unit 17 irradiates light in a range including above the cut-off line to the headlight 2 (see <Example 8> above). After that, based on the vehicle front image, the control content determination unit 16 determines that on the vehicle front image, the luminance value of the range where light is being imaged is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value (hereinafter referred to as the "luminance determination threshold value"), the range where light is being imaged moves by equal to or more than a preset threshold value (hereinafter referred to as the "movement determination threshold value") during a preset period (hereinafter referred to as the "luminance determination period"), and the luminance in the range where light is being imaged does not change during the luminance determination period. Then, it is determined to dim the light to the headlight 2. For example, in the control content information for no target object, there is defined the content "When it is determined that on the vehicle front image, the luminance value of the range where light is being imaged is equal to or higher than the luminance determination threshold value, the range where light is being imaged moves by equal to or more than the movement determination threshold value during the luminance determination period, and the luminance in the range where light is being imaged does not change during the luminance determination period, dim the light to the headlight 2. Regarding the irradiation range, in the vertical direction, it is the range expanded upward by the vertical irradiation angle only above the cut-off line, and in the horizontal direction, it is the range expanded left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's direction." The control content determination unit 16 may determine to dim the light to the headlight 2 according to the control content information for no target object.

[0081] Then, the control content determination unit 16 dims the light being irradiated to the light distribution control unit 17. How much the control content determination unit 16 dims the light to the light distribution control unit 17 can be set as appropriate. Note that the vehicle front image is included in the vehicle surrounding information. For example, the control content determination unit 16 stores the vehicle surrounding information in a storage unit (not shown) in association with the acquisition date and time of the vehicle surrounding information. The control content determination unit 16 acquires the vehicle surrounding information for the period back from the luminance determination period from the storage unit, and determines whether the luminance value of the range where light is imaged on the vehicle front image is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, whether the range where light is imaged on the vehicle front image has moved by a movement determination threshold or more during the luminance determination period, and whether the luminance in the range where light is imaged on the vehicle front image has not changed during the luminance determination period. Note that, for example, a luminance value indicating a brightness level that the driver finds bothersome is set as the luminance determination threshold. Also, when the range where light is imaged on the vehicle front image has moved by a movement determination threshold or more during the luminance determination period and the luminance in the range where light is imaged has not changed during the luminance determination period, it is presumed that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing.

[0082] In a situation where there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, if light of a brightness level that bothers the driver frequently moves following the direction the driver is facing, the driver may feel bothered. For example, when the vehicle 100 is driving in an underground parking lot, the light of the headlight 2 may hit the wall of the underground parking lot. When the light of the headlight 2 hits the wall, the light appears bright to the driver. That is, the luminance of the range where the light is imaged on the vehicle front image becomes high. On the other hand, for example, in an underground parking lot, the driver can frequently change the direction to look for a place where parking seems possible or to check if there is no one coming out from behind other parked vehicles. In this case, if the light of the headlight 2 is irradiated in the direction the driver is facing, the position of the light that hits the wall of the underground parking lot and appears bright to the driver is frequently moved following the driver's direction. When there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing and the position of the light hitting the wall of the underground parking lot is frequently moved, the movement of the light will distract the driver's line of sight, which may cause annoyance to the driver.

[0083] Therefore, as described above, when the control content determination unit 16 determines that the luminance value of the range where the light is imaged on the vehicle front image is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold value, the range where the light is imaged moves by more than the movement determination threshold value during the luminance determination period, and the luminance in the range where the light is imaged does not change during the luminance determination period, it is determined to dim the light, and the light irradiation unit 17 may be instructed to dim the irradiated light. Thereby, the headlight control device 1 can reduce the annoyance that may be given to the driver by the frequent movement of the irradiation range of the light irradiated to the headlight 2. The headlight control device 1 can make the light that may cause annoyance to the driver less conspicuous by dimming the light irradiated to the headlight 2.

[0084] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the control of reducing the irradiation light amount when the headlight control device 1 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, as described above, in the first embodiment. Note that FIG. 8 shows an example of the irradiation range and irradiation light amount of the light from the headlight 2 when assuming a situation where the light irradiated by the headlight 2 hits the wall in an underground parking lot, for example. In FIG. 8, the irradiation range in which the light distribution control unit 17 of the headlight control device 1 irradiates the headlight 2 with light is indicated by "LA8". Also, in FIG. 8, the wall is indicated by a dotted line. In FIG. 8, the left figure shows an example of a state where the light distribution control unit 17 irradiates the headlight 2 with light in a range including above the cut-off line when the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing. For example, when the driver changes the direction left and right, the irradiation range will be moved left and right accordingly.

[0085] Here, the control content determination unit 16 determines, based on the image in front of the vehicle, that on the image in front of the vehicle, the luminance value of the range where light is being imaged (the range of LA8 in the left figure in the example of FIG. 8) is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold value, the range where light is being imaged has moved by a value equal to or greater than the movement determination threshold value during the luminance determination period, and the luminance in the range where light is being imaged has not changed during the luminance determination period, and determines to dim the light. Then, the control content determination unit 16 causes the light distribution control unit 17 to dim the light being irradiated. As a result, as shown in the right figure in FIG. 8, the amount of irradiated light in the irradiation range becomes smaller. In FIG. 8, the magnitude of the amount of irradiated light is indicated by the darkness of the color. Since the amount of irradiated light in the irradiation range shown in the left figure in FIG. 8 is larger than the amount of irradiated light in the irradiation range shown in the right figure in FIG. 8, the irradiation range shown in the left figure in FIG. 8 is darker.

[0086] When the headlight control device 1 performs the control of reducing the amount of irradiated light when it is determined that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing as described above, in step ST4 of the operation of the headlight control device 1 described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7, the control content determination unit 16 first determines the irradiation range and the amount of irradiated light. Now, for example, assuming that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 sets, for example, the vertical direction to a range widened upward by the vertical irradiation angle from the cut-off line, and the horizontal direction to a range widened left and right by the horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's orientation as the irradiation range, and sets the amount of irradiated light to the reference value. Then, in step ST5, the light distribution control unit 17 irradiates the headlight 2 with light in the irradiation range determined by the control content determination unit 16 at the amount of irradiated light determined by the control content determination unit 16.

[0087] Thereafter, the operation of the headlight control device 1 returns to the process of step ST1. In step ST4, the control content determination unit 16 determines whether, on the vehicle front image, the luminance value of the range where light is imaged is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, the range where light is imaged has moved by a movement determination threshold or more during the luminance determination period, and the luminance in the range where light is imaged has not changed during the luminance determination period. When it is determined that the luminance value of the range where light is imaged on the vehicle front image is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, the range where light is imaged has moved by a movement determination threshold or more during the luminance determination period, and the luminance in the range where light is imaged has not changed during the luminance determination period, the control content determination unit 16 outputs determination control content information for dimming the irradiated light to the light distribution control unit 17. Note that, regarding the irradiation range, the control content determination unit 16 determines, for example, that the vertical direction is a range expanded upward by a vertical irradiation angle greater than the cut-off line, and the horizontal direction is a range expanded left and right by a horizontal irradiation angle based on the driver's direction. The light distribution control unit 17 reduces the irradiation light amount of the headlight 2.

[0088] Thereafter, again, the operation of the headlight control device 1 returns to the process of step ST1. If, in step ST2, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that a target object exists in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the irradiation range and the irradiation light amount so that the target object is irradiated with light according to the situation where the target object is placed, and the light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlight 2 according to the control content determined by the control content determination unit 16.

[0089] As described above, in the first embodiment, when the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 of the headlight control device 1 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the light distribution control unit 17 irradiates the headlight 2 with light in a range including above the cut-off line. When the control content determination unit 16 determines, based on the vehicle front image, that on the vehicle front image, the luminance value of the range where the light is imaged is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, the range where the light is imaged has moved by equal to or greater than the movement determination threshold during the luminance determination period, and the luminance in the range where the light is imaged has not changed during the luminance determination period, it may be determined to dim the light, and the light distribution control unit 17 may be made to dim the irradiated light. Thereby, the headlight control device 1 can reduce the annoyance that may be given to the driver due to frequent movement of the irradiation range of the light irradiated to the headlight 2.

[0090] Also, in the first embodiment above, the headlight control device 1 determines the irradiation range and the irradiation light amount of the headlight 2 and controls the irradiation range and the irradiation light amount with respect to the headlight 2, but this is merely an example. For example, the headlight control device 1 may determine the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount of the headlight 2 and control the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount with respect to the headlight 2.

[0091] In the above-described First Embodiment, the headlight control device 1 is an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle 100, and includes an in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, an orientation detection unit 12, a surrounding information acquisition unit 13, a target object presence / absence determination unit 14, a target object situation determination unit 15, a control content determination unit 16, a light distribution control unit 17, and a control unit (not shown) that are provided in the in-vehicle device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Among the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and the control unit (not shown), a part may be provided in the in-vehicle device of the vehicle 100, and the others may be provided in a server connected to the in-vehicle device via a network. Further, all of the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and the control unit (not shown) may be provided in the server.

[0092] FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing an example of the hardware configuration of the headlight control device 1 according to the First Embodiment. In the First Embodiment, the functions of the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and the control unit (not shown) are realized by a processing circuit 1001. That is, the headlight control device 1 includes a processing circuit 1001 for determining the situation in which an object exists in the direction the driver is facing based on the direction of the driver detected from the in-vehicle captured image acquired from the in-vehicle imaging device 3 and the vehicle surrounding information acquired from the surrounding information acquisition device 4, and performing lighting control of the headlight 2 in consideration of the situation in which an object exists in the direction the driver is facing. As shown in FIG. 9A, the processing circuit 1001 may be dedicated hardware, or as shown in FIG. 9B, may be a processor 1004 that executes a program stored in a memory 1005.

[0093] When the processing circuit 1001 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 1001 corresponds to, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel-programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof.

[0094] When the processing circuit is the processor 1004, the functions of the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and the control unit (not shown) are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software or firmware is described as a program and stored in the memory 1005. The processor 1004 reads and executes the program stored in the memory 1005 to execute the functions of the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and the control unit (not shown). That is, the headlight control device 1 includes a memory 1005 for storing a program that, when executed by the processor 1004, will result in the execution of steps ST1 to ST5 of FIG. 7 described above. Also, the program stored in the memory 1005 can be said to cause a computer to execute the processing procedures or methods of the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and the control unit (not shown). Here, the memory 1005 includes, for example, non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memories such as RAM, ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), magnetic disks, flexible disks, optical disks, compact disks, mini disks, DVDs (Digital Versatile Disc), etc.

[0095] Note that, regarding the functions of the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and the functions of the control unit (not shown), part of them may be realized by dedicated hardware and part of them may be realized by software or firmware. For example, for the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, and the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, their functions are realized by the processing circuit 1001 as dedicated hardware, and for the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, and the light distribution control unit 17, their functions can be realized by the processor 1004 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 1005. Further, the headlight control device 1 includes devices such as the headlight 2, the in-vehicle imaging device 3, or the surrounding information acquisition device 4, and an input interface device 1002 and an output interface device 1003 that perform wired communication or wireless communication.

[0096] As described above, the headlight control device 1 according to Embodiment 1 includes an orientation detection unit 12 that detects the orientation of the driver based on the captured image (in-vehicle captured image) of the driver of the vehicle 100, and based on the orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit 12 and the vehicle surrounding information, a target object presence / absence determination unit 14 that determines whether there is a target object that is estimated to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing, and when the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, a target object situation determination unit 15 that determines the situation in which the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information, and based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object determined by the target object situation determination unit 15 is placed and the orientation information, a control content determination unit 16 that determines the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount of the light by the headlight 2 provided in the vehicle 100, and a light distribution control unit 17 that irradiates light to the headlight 2 based on the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit 16. Therefore, the headlight control device 1 can perform lighting control of the headlight 2 based on the direction the driver is facing in the vehicle 100, taking into account the situation where an object exists in the direction the driver is facing. As a result, the headlight control device 1 can perform control of the headlight 2 that is preferable for the driver to easily visually recognize the object according to the situation where an object exists in the direction the driver is facing. In addition, since the headlight control device 1 can irradiate light only when additional light such as light above the cutoff line is required in the direction the driver is facing, the scene in which the driver is aware of the movement of the light from the headlight 2 is limited. As a result, the headlight control device 1 can reduce the annoyance that can be given to the driver by the movement of the light from the headlight 2.

[0097] Note that in the present disclosure, any component of the embodiment can be modified or any component of the embodiment can be omitted.

Industrial Applicability

[0098] The headlight control device according to the present disclosure can perform lighting control in consideration of the situation where an object exists in the direction the driver is facing.

Explanation of Signs

[0099] 1 Headlight control device, 11 In-vehicle image acquisition unit, 12 Direction detection unit, 13 Peripheral information acquisition unit, 14 Target object presence / absence determination unit, 15 Target object situation determination unit, 16 Control content determination unit, 17 Light distribution control unit, 2 Headlight, 3 In-vehicle imaging device, 4 Peripheral information acquisition device, 41 Millimeter-wave radar, 42 Out-of-vehicle imaging device, 1001 Processing circuit, 1002 Input interface device, 1003 Output interface device, 1004 Processor, 1005 Memory.

Claims

1. An orientation detection unit that detects the orientation of the driver based on a captured image of the driver of the vehicle; Based on the orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and the vehicle surrounding information, an object presence / absence determination unit that determines whether there is an object that is presumed to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing; When the object presence / absence determination unit determines that there is an object in the direction the driver is facing, an object situation determination unit that determines the situation in which the object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information; A control content determination unit that determines the irradiation range of light by a headlight provided in the vehicle based on the object situation information regarding the situation in which the object is placed determined by the object situation determination unit and the orientation information; A light distribution control unit that irradiates the light on the headlight based on the irradiation range determined by the control content determination unit; The control content determination unit determines the vertical range of the irradiation range based on the object situation information and determines the horizontal range of the irradiation range based on the orientation information for the irradiation range. A headlight control device characterized by the above.

2. The situation in which the object is placed includes at least one of the type of the object, the size of the object, the distance from the vehicle to the object, or the brightness of the surface of the object. The headlight control device according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. An orientation detection unit that detects the orientation of the driver based on a captured image of the driver of the vehicle; Based on the orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and the vehicle surrounding information, an object presence / absence determination unit that determines whether there is an object that is presumed to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing; When the object presence / absence determination unit determines that there is an object in the direction the driver is facing, an object situation determination unit that determines the situation in which the object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information; A control content determination unit that determines the irradiation range or irradiation light amount of light by a headlight provided in the vehicle based on the object situation information regarding the situation in which the object is placed determined by the object situation determination unit and the orientation information; A light distribution control unit that irradiates light based on the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit with respect to the headlight. The control content determination unit determines the vertical range of the irradiation range based on the target object situation information and determines the horizontal range of the irradiation range based on the orientation information for the irradiation range. The situation where the target object is placed includes the type of the target object, the size of the target object, and the distance from the vehicle to the target object. When the type of the target object is a person, the control content determination unit, based on the distance from the vehicle to the person and the size of the person, if the distance from the vehicle to the person is greater than or equal to a distance determination threshold value, sets the range below the head of the person as the irradiation range, and determines to increase the irradiation light amount as the distance from the vehicle to the person increases. A headlight control device characterized by the above.

4. An orientation detection unit that detects the orientation of the driver of a vehicle based on a captured image of the driver, An object presence determination unit that determines whether there is a target object that is estimated to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing based on the orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and the vehicle surrounding information. When the object presence determination unit determines that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, an object situation determination unit that determines the situation where the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information. A control content determination unit that determines the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount of the light emitted by the headlight provided on the vehicle based on the target object situation information regarding the situation where the target object is placed determined by the target object situation determination unit and the orientation information. A light distribution control unit that irradiates light based on the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit with respect to the headlight. The control content determination unit determines the vertical range of the irradiation range based on the target object situation information and determines the horizontal range of the irradiation range based on the orientation information for the irradiation range. The situation where the target object is placed includes the type of the target object, the size of the target object, and the distance from the vehicle to the target object. When the type of the target object is not a person, the control content determination unit determines that, based on the distance from the vehicle to the target object and the size of the target object, when the distance from the vehicle to the target object is equal to or greater than a distance determination threshold value, the irradiation range is a range below the height of the target object, and the irradiation light amount is increased as the distance from the vehicle to the target object increases. A headlight control device characterized by the above.

5. Based on an imaging image of a driver of a vehicle, an orientation detection unit that detects the orientation of the driver, Based on the orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and the vehicle surrounding information, an object presence determination unit that determines whether there is an object estimated to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing, When the object presence determination unit determines that there is an object in the direction the driver is facing, an object situation determination unit that determines the situation in which the object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information, A control content determination unit that determines the irradiation range or irradiation light amount of light by a headlight provided on the vehicle based on the object situation information regarding the situation in which the object determined by the object situation determination unit is placed and the orientation information, A light distribution control unit that irradiates the light based on the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit with respect to the headlight, The control content determination unit determines the vertical range of the irradiation range based on the object situation information and determines the horizontal range of the irradiation range based on the orientation information for the irradiation range, The situation in which the object is placed includes the distance from the vehicle to the object, When the distance from the vehicle to the object is less than the distance determination threshold value, the control content determination unit determines that the irradiation range is a range that does not include above the cut-off line and is below the cut-off line in the direction the driver is facing. A headlight control device characterized by the above.

6. Based on an imaging image of a driver of a vehicle, an orientation detection unit that detects the orientation of the driver, Based on the orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and the vehicle surrounding information, an object presence determination unit that determines whether there is an object estimated to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing, When the target object presence / absence determination unit determines that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, a target object situation determination unit that determines the situation in which the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information, A control content determination unit that determines the irradiation range or irradiation light amount of light by a headlight provided in the vehicle based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object is placed determined by the target object situation determination unit and the orientation information, A light distribution control unit that irradiates the headlight with light based on the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit, The control content determination unit determines the vertical range of the irradiation range based on the target object situation information and determines the horizontal range of the irradiation range based on the orientation information for the irradiation range, The situation in which the target object is placed includes the brightness of the surface of the target object, When the control content determination unit determines that the brightness of the surface of the target object is equal to or greater than a brightness determination threshold value, the control content determination unit determines the irradiation range to be a range that does not include above the cut-off line and is below the cut-off line in the direction the driver is facing, A headlight control device characterized by the above.

7. An orientation detection unit that detects the orientation of a driver of a vehicle based on a captured image of the driver, A target object presence / absence determination unit that determines whether there is a target object that is presumed to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing based on the orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and the vehicle surrounding information, When the target object presence / absence determination unit determines that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, a target object situation determination unit that determines the situation in which the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information, A control content determination unit that determines the irradiation range or irradiation light amount of light by a headlight provided in the vehicle based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object is placed determined by the target object situation determination unit and the orientation information, A light distribution control unit that irradiates the headlight with light based on the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit, The control content determination unit determines the vertical range of the irradiation range based on the target object situation information for the irradiation range, and determines the horizontal range of the irradiation range based on the orientation information. The situation where the target object is placed includes the distance from the vehicle to the target object. When the control content determination unit determines that the target object is within the irradiation range of the passing light based on the distance from the vehicle to the target object, the control content determination unit determines the irradiation range to be a range that does not include above the cut-off line and is below the cut-off line in the direction the driver is facing. A headlight control device characterized by the above.

8. The vehicle surrounding information includes a vehicle front image obtained by imaging the front of the vehicle. When the target object presence / absence determination unit determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the light distribution control unit irradiates the light to a range including above the cut-off line with respect to the headlight. Based on the vehicle front image, when the control content determination unit determines that the luminance value of the range where the light is imaged on the vehicle front image is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, the range where the light is imaged moves by equal to or greater than the movement determination threshold during the luminance determination period, and the luminance in the range where the light is imaged does not change during the luminance determination period, the control content determination unit determines to dim the light and causes the light distribution control unit to dim the irradiated light. The headlight control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by the above.

9. A step in which the orientation detection unit detects the orientation of the driver based on an imaging image in which the driver of the vehicle is imaged. A step in which the target object presence / absence determination unit determines whether there is a target object that is presumed to be a visual recognition target by the driver in the direction the driver is facing based on the orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and the vehicle surrounding information. A step in which the target object situation determination unit determines the situation where the target object is placed based on the vehicle surrounding information when the target object presence / absence determination unit determines that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing. A step in which the control content determination unit determines the irradiation range of the light by the headlight provided on the vehicle based on the target object situation information regarding the situation where the target object is placed determined by the target object situation determination unit and the orientation information. The light distribution control unit irradiates the light on the headlight based on the irradiation range determined by the control content determination unit; The control content determination unit determines the vertical range of the irradiation range based on the target object situation information and determines the horizontal range of the irradiation range based on the orientation information for the irradiation range; A headlight control method characterized by the above.

Images